. . . because much of the content relates both to Washington, D.C., and "outside the beltway" -- the heartland, specifically Iowa -- and because after going from Iowa to Washington via Texas and California I subsequently returned, From DC 2 Iowa.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Broadband: Save Us From the Broadbandits

March 24, 2010, 7:00 a.m.

National Broadband Plan Has Everything . . .Except for Any Meaningful Price Caps(brought to you by FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com*)

Click here for blog entry about President Obama's March 25 Iowa City visit.

Today's blog entry is a reproduction of a newspaper column of mine that appears in this morning's Des Moines Register.

"Broadband" is how we do, or soon will, connect to the Internet. For most Iowans that means Mediacom or Qwest. Federal and Iowa officials think we're suffering by lagging the world in broadband speed. They want to increase it by as much as 100-fold.

I neither have, nor represent anyone who has, a financial interest in these issues; just an interest in what the NBP means for Iowans in general and you in particular.

Obviously, what it took the FCC 376 pages to say - with the help of eight small-print pages of glossary and "common abbreviations" - can't be fully explained in a 600-word column. (If you'd like my fuller take, see "Broadband Challenge," at www.nicholasjohnson.org/writing/BroadbandChallenge.doc.)

Having spent seven years as an FCC commissioner writing what were mostly critical, dissenting opinions, I want to complement the FCC this time. The NBP is one of the agency's largest, boldest efforts ever. There is much in it that mirrors my own recommendations, such as promotion of broadband for poor families and underserved rural areas, a super-fast access point in each community, and better informed consumers.

On the other hand, until voters insist on public financing of campaigns, big money will continue to dictate big policy. Congress turns the health-care problem over to those who created it, with a health-insurance-company subsidy program. Instead of meaningful consumer protection, it selects Treasury Department secretaries from Goldman Sachs and tells Wall Street to regulate itself.

As a result, the NBP offers broadband consumers no hope of protection from price-gouging by limited-competition phone and cable companies earning upwards of 80 percent profit margins. The industries' campaign contributions had already eliminated local, state and federal regulation.

The FCC's not even requiring them to provide open access to their competitors - the one requirement that explains how Korea and other countries sprint ahead of the United States with their near-universal access, dramatically faster speeds and cheaper rates.

Broadband is a classic multiple-variable challenge. The speed and varieties of computer chips, computers, and phones; the demands of the millions of new applications; alternative distribution technologies (phone, cable, wireless; optic fiber and coaxial) - and broadband speeds - must ratchet upward together.

There may be questions about who needs how much broadband speed, where, and by when. But it seems clear Internet access will have an increasing influence in Iowans' lives. The FCC focuses on seven areas: economic opportunity, education, health care, energy and environment, government performance, civic engagement, and public safety. There's more: 3 billion downloads of the 134,000 iPhone apps for that device alone.

Iowa's governor and legislators are aware of the challenge and opportunity expanded and extended broadband offers our citizens. There will soon be more to say about their planning process (in which I participated). Today's Internet is no less significant to our era than railroads were to the 19th century, AT&T to the early 20th, and the interstate highways to the late 20th. Each of us can benefit from learning more about it.

How much speed do you need for your uses? What are you actually getting compared to what you were promised? (What does "up to" mean?) Is there a cheaper alternative? Does your library offer free access? What additional uses might improve your family life, increase your business' profits, deliver your health care more efficiently, let you earn a degree (or run a business) from home, or make your neighborhood safer?

The column has produced some commentary, both by way of emails and as posted to the Register's online site.

A Mr. Jerry Viers emailed me this afternoon:

Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for the insightful article I just read in the DM Register. It really hit home with me. Ten years ago I moved to the country and for my sin, learned that high speed internet was not available here. I need high speed for my business and had to travel to my daughter's house to use her connections. The use of dial up connections was like not having internet at all.

I have [my company] as a phone provider and their efforts for providing rural customers with high speed have been laughable. In their advertisements, they proclaim that virtually all their customers have high speed access. When I ask them to explain this, they provide me with the phone number to a satellite provider. That act makes me accessible to high speed, according to them. High speed (DSL) is offered by them in populated areas. They have been promising me that high speed will be in my area in a few months. They have been saying this for about eight years now.

Some other tidbits about [my company];

• Their CEO is the third highest paid person in the State of Iowa.• Their phone "service" is equivalent to a Dixie cup on a string.• They do not wish to speak with you about these issues, save for a poor uninformed customer service rep.• Their rates have doubled in the last 10 years.

And lastly, they have recently been sold to a national company that I hope is more tech savvy and customer friendly.

Also, I have conducted some research on the above mentioned satellite providers; they are slow and dependent on weather conditions, expensive and are not recommended by the Consumers Union.

With the help of [another company] I now am able to connect via cell phone signals with a device that attaches to my computer. I get fair speed from it. Ten time faster than dial up, but still not DSL.

In answer to your question; I believe that providing internet to rural areas is tantamount to the rural electrification of the 1930's. The answer is to run fiber optic lines to all areas.

I thought this real life description of Iowans' broadband frustrations worth sharing with others, as support for what I hope will be our State's equivalent to the FCC's National Broadband Plan.

Here are some of the comments posted to the Register's Web page for the column:

2002retired wrote:As a result, the NBP offers broadband consumers no hope of protection from price-gouging by limited-competition phone and cable companies earning upwards of 80 percent profit margins. The industries' campaign contributions had already eliminated local, state and federal regulation.

Must be talking about all that regulation that was stopping competition and not letting capitalism work for us. Good thing we got rid of that government socialist program and let Americans enjoy the fruits of unregulated capitalism.3/24/2010 9:55:06 AM

adelguy wrote:Let me get this straight. The Federal Government decides everyone in America has a "right" to broadband internet, no matter what the cost is. So if you live in a city that has at least two options (phone and cable companies) you will now get to pay for those who live in rural areas that don't have cable or DSL. Apparently it never crossed the minds of the big thinkers in D.C. that broadband is available via satellite and cellular companies plus a few other over-the-air broadband carriers like Prairie i-Net. Are rural areas blocked by trees so they can't get a clear view of the sky for satellite, or live too far away from any cell tower to get that reception either? Yes, those two options cost more than cable or DSL, but I would bet there's enough money left from rural residents not having to pay city property taxes to more than offset that difference.3/24/2010 10:59:18 AM

ImSpeakingMyMindInIowa wrote:Replying to adelguy:

Replying to adelguy:

.....Apparently it never crossed the minds of the big thinkers in D.C. that broadband is available via satellite and cellular companies plus a few other over-the-air broadband carriers like Prairie i-Net. Are rural areas blocked by trees so they can't get a clear view of the sky for satellite, or live too far away from any cell tower to get that reception either? Yes, those two options cost more than cable or DSL, but I would bet there's enough money left from rural residents not having to pay city property taxes to more than offset that difference.

Prairie i-Net, LOL, I couldn't get rid of them fast enough, what joke. As far as all current over the air ISPs, none of them meet the qualifications of being broadband. They just like to call themselves that for sales because they are faster than dial-up, oh boy! They only get away with it because there is no legal definition of broadband which the FED proposal changes.3/24/2010 5:01:33 PM

ImSpeakingMyMindInIowaReplying to adelguy:

......So if you live in a city that has at least two options (phone and cable companies) you will now get to pay for those who live in rural areas that don't have cable or DSL. .........

You mean like the rural areas have subsided your city electricity for what now, 80 years? Its easy to anticipate a program setup up like the REC did for electricity, where the government subsidizes the private companies on capital expenses at a super low interest rate to get it to all rural users. Who then turn out to be the major market over the city folk in its use. Just like with electricity, interesting to say the least.

3/24/2010 5:10:28 PM

ElsaA wrote:

Living in my rural area means muddy gravel roads, slower fire and ambulance response times, and slow crappy Internet access. If I decide I don't like those things, I have the option of moving into a city. So be it.

I did get annoyed when I read that a sizeable amount of previous federal money allocated for broadband access ended up going to suburban millionaire McMansions in Texas to upgrade their already-reasonably-fast Internet speeds. Either spend the money better than that or don't allocate it, period.3/25/2010 10:09:11 AM

cubreporter wrote:

Electric Coops already supply burglar alarm and similar services in many states.Let them step forward with computer connections.3/25/2010 10:42:48 AM

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* Why do I put this blog ID at the top of the entry, when you know full well what blog you're reading? Because there are a number of Internet sites that, for whatever reason, simply take the blog entries of others and reproduce them as their own without crediting the source. I don't mind the flattering attention, but would appreciate acknowledgment as the source -- even if I have to embed it myself.-- Nicholas Johnson

No Legal AdviceNothing posted on this blog is intended as, constitutes, nor should be taken to be, "legal advice," nor as creating an attorney-client relationship.

Personal ViewThis blog is neither affiliated with nor hosted by the University of Iowa or any other institution or organization. It is maintained by Nicholas Johnson in his individual capacity. Nothing posted here should be construed as anything other than the personal views of the author.